The decline in print media

 The decline in print media

Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption 2022


1) Look at the headlines from the report on page 6. Pick three that you think are interesting and bullet point them here. Why did you pick those three in particular?  

• Five of the top six TV channels (including BBC One which remains the top news source across platforms) saw decreased reach from 2021 among online adults.

• Attitudes towards news generally remain consistent with 2020 (across measures such as quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality) for TV, radio, social media, newspapers and online, with TV performing strongest, and social media performing least well.

• Social media is overtaking traditional channels for news among teens. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are now their top three most used sources for news. Meanwhile many sources have seen decreases since 2021, with reach of BBC One/Two decreasing to 24% in 2022 (down from 35% in 2021).

2) Look at the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What are the key points on newspapers? 

• The differences between platforms used across age groups are striking; younger age groups continue to be more likely to use the internet and social media for news, whereas their older counterparts favour print, radio and TV.

• BBC One remains the top source by reach for adults (53%). YouTube (8%) has seen growth from 2020 (appearing on the ‘top 20' list for the first time) while both ITV and Google see decreases in reach. There is significant variation in the top sources used across age groups - among younger groups social media sources are particularly prevalent (Instagram is the top source among 16- 24s with a reach of 46%).

•  Viewer attitudes (measures such as quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality) towards TV channels’ news provision are generally consistent with 2020

• At a channel level, longer term, reach of Capital and Heart for news appears to be decreasing, as does BBC local radio in England.

• While the reach of print newspapers is decreasing, online newspaper reach remains steady.

• Users of TikTok for news get more of their news on TikTok from ‘other people they follow’ than ‘news organisations’.

• 13% of UK adults say they use news aggregators.

• TV remains the most popular platform for accessing local news and people are still highly satisfied with the quality of this news. 42% of online UK adults who follow news say they watch regional/local broadcasts on BBC TV and 23% watch them on ITV/ITV WALES/UTV/STV (a decrease from 32% in 2020). Four in five of these viewers are satisfied with the quality of news that these channels provide.

• TV remains the most common platform for accessing news about respondents’ own nation. BBC One is the most used news source in Wales for accessing news about the nation, whereas STV is most used in Scotland and UTV the most used in Northern Ireland. BBC One is the most used news source in England for accessing news about the respondents’ region.

• As in 2020, six in ten adults (64%) think it is important for ‘society overall’ that broadcasters provide current affairs programming, more than those who say it is important to them personally (53%).

3) Look at the statistics on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed in recent years?

• TV - 74%

• Internet - 66%

• Radio - 40%

• Newspapers - 24%

Newspapers have drastically declined over the years and are continuing to do so.

4) Now look at the age demographics for news consumption on page 16. What age demographic groups are most and least likely to read newspapers and what are the percentages? 

Most Likely: 75+

•  51% (print usage)

• 59% (additional online research)

Least Likely: 16-24

• 10% (print usage)

• 30% (additional online research)

5) Look at the newspaper-specific data on page 36. Which are the most popular newspaper titles? 

• Daily Mail

• The Sun

• The Metro

6) Now look at the total newspaper reach of print and online on page 39. How has this decreased over the last three years?

The use of print has decreased whilst the use of their websites have stayed the same as well as consuming both, print and websites, has decreased by 3%.


Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media


1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years?

In the last 30 years, the number of people using print media has declined drastically due to other competitors being introduced into the market. For example, the introduction of televisions in the 1950s led to more people deciding to watch the news for free, rather than pay to read a traditional newspaper.

The internet, however, was a greater revolution. There was more freedom on the internet and a new way of communicating was established due to the anonymous nature of the internet. This lead to a larger decline in traditional print newspapers.

2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?

The Independent newspaper is the most recent to have 'died' in terms of its print form. Established in 1986, the Independent offered a new and unbias approach to journalism and had many readers. The independent was sold to Evgeny Lebedev for a nominal £1 and £9.25m over the next 10 months. However, the company faced financial difficulties after a scandal concerning the reporter Johann Hari. It was claimed that Hari’s reporting contained inaccuracies and plagiarised materials, which was later found to be true. The newspaper decided to cease all printed forms of the news following the damage to its reputation and it is now only found online.

3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?

It was famous for offering a new and unbias approach to journalism- The newspaper’s selling line was, until 2011, “free from political bias, free from proprietorial influence”, and the reporting somewhat reflected this; in the last decade of its publication the Independent became known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages.

4) What did the then-owner of the Independent, Evgeny Lebedev, say about the newspaper's digital-only future?

“The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high-quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.” Evegeny Lebedev

5) How do online newspapers make money?

They make money out of the number of views their page receives. This is mostly generated through advertisement on the site.

6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?

He was worried that the 'originality in its design and the iconoclastic feel of the paper' would be lost if the newspaper was to switch to a digital platform.

7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?

The concern with fake news is that these types of articles are getting more attention than the legit ones. It has become difficult to regulate and monitor what is fake news and what is real news, which makes creating a profitable online news source even more difficult. 

The term 'post-truth' refers to the fact that 'objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.' 

8) What is your view on the decline in print media? Should news be free? Is it a concern that established media brands such as the Independent can no longer afford to exist as a printed newspaper?

I believe that independent news companies shouldn't be free because the people who work for those companies are entitled to receive payment for the hard work they do. However, with free news available (like the publicly funded BBC and online sources) it is very unlikely that anyone would be willing to pay for news. Therefore, I believe that a new system should be established to allow these newspaper companies to live on. Perhaps they can be funded through tax money or publicly funded charities. Ultimately, we should try to preserve newspapers as much as possible because they contain the highest quality of journalism and are the most reliable source for finding out what's happening in our world. There are other solutions for the preservation of print media such as diversifying into an online websites as magazines have done.